Here's stand-up Myq Kaplan doing a set on Conan last night, in which he makes a pretty good point about Back to the Future (and spoils the ending, in case you haven't seen it).
Here are things Kickstarter implicitly considers art: Hawaiian bitters, a solar powered sound installation, a mix-tape of whale songs, a pre-Burning Man roller disco, and a weapon to shoot toothpicks. Myq's project has already been funded but the more money the more art he can make. It's at least as artful as a toothpick weapon.
Here's comedian Myq Kaplan performing his second stand-up set on Letterman Friday night (his first was last year). In his "tight five," Kaplan discusses the Wright Brothers, tattoos, pick-up lines, and grammar. Even if you don't like standup comedy, Kaplan's jokes about fighting and his fear of confrontation should make you feel better about not being as much of a wimp as he is.
Here's a fun look at the development of one standup joke (by comedian Myq Kaplan) from its earliest conception, through workshopping in front of different audiences, to delivery on Conan. It's really cool to see how the most concise delivery of a funny idea gets honed in on, and how much impact each small choice has on the whole.
With jokes every word matters. So Mr. Kaplan’s first breakthrough was three days later onstage at the Comedy Studio in Boston, where on the spot he changed “bottom of your shoe” to “lady feet-bottoms.” He liked the sound. When he ran the entire joke by Josh Gondelman, a comic [...]
When heard without context, the song “Bop 25” sounds like it belongs on modern Top 40 radio. The track has all the earmarks of a contemporary chart-topper. It’s short and catchy; the vocals in the chorus are auto-tuned; the bridge is drowned in a cacophony of digitized instruments; and, perhaps most tellingly, it’s utterly and profoundly ridiculous.
In truth, the 13th track on Myq Kaplan and Micah Sherman’s new musical comedy record, Please Be Seated, is a polemic of sorts against the state of modern pop music. Over the course of the song’s one-minute runtime, the duo sings the word “bop” 96 times. The rest of the tune [...]
If there’s a stand-up comedy competition happening, and Myq Kaplan is involved, just go ahead and bet the farm on him. He’s like the Secretariat of these things, with wins at New York’s Funniest Stand-up Competition, the New York Comedy Contest and Caroline’s March Comedy Madness, and shows at Last Comic Standing (2010 Top 5 finalist) and Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight (2007 finalist), among others.
The cerebral and genial Kaplan is quick to downplay the significance of comedy competitions, but he’s obviously doing something right. He’s now headlining clubs across the country and opening for the likes of Louis C.K., Patton Oswalt and other comedy kingpins even [...]
